life LESSONS By Cat Greenleaf
Start LUST-ing
How’s that for a headline grabber? Want to know more? Read on.
©istockphoto.com/asiseeit; ©istockphoto.com/dsgpro
M
y name is Cat Greenleaf, and I’m a hardcore Blackberry addict. Oh don’t judge – we all live in this glass house! Here’s when I hit rock bottom: I emerged from the subway at Smith & Bergen Streets in Brooklyn one winter evening to find the coolest looking building standing across the street. “Is that new? When did they put that up? Why have I never noticed it before?” At that moment, I realized I’d never seen the building because I’m always frantically waiting to restore my signal when I get out of the train. “Who texted me? Do I have any messages? What did I miss?” That building on Smith Street has been there over a hundred years. Living in the moment is getting harder and harder because we’re all so distracted by what’s going on in the tiny screens in our hands. The lives we’re living take place on a miniscule monitor, and
the life we’re missing out on is wonder, experience, contemplation, true connection. This is why I started LUST. It’s not porn, it’s an acronym: Look Up Stop Texting. The LUSTy mission is to remind us all to put down our PDAs more than we do, and live in the actual world instead of in the virtual one. LUST isn’t saying we should NEVER text - just that adding a measure of control can add so much to our experience of being alive. On our website, we’re selling nameplate necklaces, t-shirts, onesies, notebooks and PDA covers, all of which remind us to live in the real world. We’re also forming a community – asking people to share what they see when they Look Up & Stop Texting, and how they manage to Put It Down. Some recent thoughts include: “The tippy tops of trees and plants emerging from someone’s amazing roof
garden; The person I almost bumped into; An Amazing full moon; My beautiful family surrounding me enjoying life, laughing and learning with twinkles in their eyes!” I’d love to hear what YOU see….please log on and weigh in: www.LustBklyn.com. Beside my job on TV and my love/ hate relationship with my Blackberry, I’m also a new mom. Sometimes I check my text messages before checking on my son. Am I guilty? You have no idea. Or maybe, you do… ■
Cat Greenleaf
www.LustBklyn.com Cat is the host of NBC’s Talk Stoop with Cat Greenleaf, where she interviews celebs and newsmakers right on the front steps of her Brooklyn home. Go to www.CatGreenleaf. com for who’s next on her stoop.
projectyou
l
27